Centene to fill Missouri insurance void left by Blue Cross

Centene covers 1.2 million customers through the exchanges and is among that market's biggest providers of health insurance. (KCTV)

KANSAS CITY, MO (KCTV) -

Health insurer Centene said the 40 Missouri counties where it will offer coverage on Affordable Care Act insurance exchanges next year include 25 that would otherwise have been without an insurer.

Missouri-based Centene Corp.'s announcement Friday came 17 days after it said it would expand into Missouri even as others are either withdrawing from those markets or proposing steep price hikes to remain.

Centene's Missouri offerings will fill an expected void after Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas City leaves that individual insurance marketplace next year, leaving 25 Missouri counties with no insurance provider under the exchanges.

Centene covers 1.2 million customers through the exchanges and is among that market's biggest providers of health insurance.

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A Facebook post from a local teacher that said the Florida shooting had her so on edge she was actually considering ending her 35-year career in education had us wondering how many other teachers are having that kind of internal crisis.

A Facebook post from a local teacher that said the Florida shooting had her so on edge she was actually considering ending her 35-year career in education had us wondering how many other teachers are having that kind of internal crisis.